8 Tips for Consistent Graphic Design Output

Sep 1, 2024

Learn 8 tips for consistent graphic design output, including creating a style guide, choosing a color palette, and using design templates. Improve usability and brand recognition.

Want to keep your graphic designs looking cohesive? Here are 8 key tips:

Create a style guide
Choose a color palette
Keep typography consistent
Use design templates
Set up a design system
Use grid systems
Standardize image use
Do regular design checks

These strategies help maintain brand consistency, improve usability, and strengthen your visual identity across all materials. By implementing these tips, you'll create a unified look that's easier for users and reinforces your brand.

Quick comparison of consistency benefits:

| Benefit | Impact |
| --- | --- |
| Better usability | Users navigate designs more easily |
| Stronger brand | Improved brand recognition |
| Fewer user errors | Consistent UI reduces mistakes |
| Faster workflows | Templates and systems speed up work |
| Scalability | Easier to expand to new materials

What is Design Consistency?

Design consistency means making all parts of a product or brand look and work the same way. It's about using the same style and rules for how things look and behave across your design work. This helps users understand and use your product more easily.

When you keep your design consistent, you're making a promise to your users. For instance, if you always use a light grey button to close pop-ups on your website, users will learn this and know what to expect.

There are four main types of design consistency:

Visual: Using the same colors, fonts, and images throughout your design.
Functional: Making sure buttons and other interactive parts work the same way everywhere.
Internal: Keeping things the same within one product or platform.
External: Making your design match what users expect based on other products they use.

Here's why design consistency is important:

| Benefit | Description |
| --- | --- |
| Easier to use | Users can find their way around your design more easily |
| Quicker to learn | Users understand and remember how things work faster |
| Looks better | A matching look makes your design seem more professional |
| Fewer mistakes | Users make fewer errors when things work as they expect |
| Better brand recognition | People remember your brand more easily when it looks the same everywhere

To keep designs consistent, many teams use design systems, style guides, and component libraries. These tools help everyone on the team use the same design rules and elements. Regular testing with users and good documentation also help keep designs consistent across different products and teams.

1. Create a Style Guide

Making a style guide helps keep your designs the same across all your work. It's a key tool that everyone on your team can use to follow the same design rules.

What to Put in a Style Guide

A good style guide should have:

Brand colors and how to use them
Fonts and text sizes
Logo versions and rules
Icons, patterns, and image styles
Layout and grid rules

To make it more useful, add:

What to do and what not to do for each design part
Lists to check designs before finishing
Real examples of correct use
Tools to help use the guide

How to Make and Update a Style Guide

To create a useful style guide:

Pick a format (paper, website, or interactive)
Make a clear list of contents
Write short, easy-to-read rules
Show pictures for each part
Ask your team what they think before you finish

Remember to check and update your style guide often to keep it useful as your brand grows.

Why Use a Style Guide

Using a style guide has many good points:

| Good Point | What It Means |
| --- | --- |
| Same Quality | All designs look good and match |
| Faster Work | Less time thinking about small choices |
| People Know Your Brand | Everything looks like it’s from you |
| Easy to Use | People understand your designs better |
| New People Learn Fast | New team members can start work quickly

2. Choose a Color Palette

Picking the right colors is key for keeping your designs the same and showing what your brand is about. Good colors can change how people see your brand and products.

Picking Brand Colors

When choosing colors for your brand, think about:

How colors make people feel
What colors others in your field use
What your brand stands for
Who you want to reach

Using Colors the Same Way

Using colors the same way helps people know your brand. Here's how to do it:

1. Pick main and backup colors: Decide which colors are most important and how to use them.

2. Make color pairs: Write down which colors go well together.

3. Use exact color codes: Give the right numbers for each color so they're always the same.

4. Write rules for using colors: Say clearly where and how to use each color.

Tools to Help with Colors

These tools can help you use your colors well:

| Tool | What It Does | Best For |
| --- | --- | --- |
| <a href="https://color.adobe.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-framer-link="Link:{"url":"https://color.adobe.com/","type":"url"}" data-framer-open-in-new-tab="">Adobe Color</a> | Makes color wheels, checks if colors work for everyone | Making colors that look good together |
| <a href="https://coolors.co/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-framer-link="Link:{"url":"https://coolors.co/","type":"url"}" data-framer-open-in-new-tab="">Coolors</a> | Makes color sets, checks if colors stand out from each other | Making color sets quickly |
| <a href="https://connect.pantone.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-framer-link="Link:{"url":"https://connect.pantone.com/","type":"url"}" data-framer-open-in-new-tab="">Pantone Connect</a> | Matches colors, makes sure colors look the same on screens and paper | Making sure colors look right everywhere |

3. Keep Typography Consistent

Using the same fonts helps make your designs look good together and shows off your brand. When you use the same fonts everywhere, people can easily spot your brand.

Picking Brand Fonts

Choose fonts that fit your brand:

Pick 2-3 fonts that work well together and match your brand's style
Make sure they're easy to read on different screens
Use font families with different weights (like bold and light)
Check that you're allowed to use these fonts for your business

Setting Up Font Sizes

Use different font sizes to make your text easy to read:

| Text Type | Font | Size | Weight |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Main Title | Main Font | 32px | Bold |
| Subtitle | Main Font | 24px | Medium |
| Small Title | Second Font | 20px | Medium |
| Regular Text | Text Font | 16px | Normal

Using Fonts on Different Devices

Keep your fonts looking the same on all devices:

Use fonts that work on most computers or use online font services
Have backup fonts ready in case your main fonts don't work
Write down how to use fonts on different devices
Check how your fonts look on phones, tablets, and computers

4. Use Design Templates

Design templates help keep your graphic designs looking the same. They give you a starting point for making different things while keeping your brand's look.

Making Templates You Can Use Again

Make templates for things you often create:

Find common items: Make templates for things like blog pictures, newsletter images, and social media posts.
Add your brand's look: Put your logo, colors, and fonts in the templates.
Leave room for changes: Make parts of the template that people can change, like text and pictures.
Make different types: Create templates for both online and print materials.

Why Using Templates is Good

Using design templates has many good points:

| Good Point | What It Means |
| --- | --- |
| Saves time | You don’t have to start from zero each time |
| Keeps things the same | Your brand looks the same in all materials |
| Helps everyone work | Team members can make things without always asking designers |
| Fewer mistakes | Templates stop people from making off-brand designs |
| Easy to make more | You can quickly make new things as you need more

Changing Templates

While templates give structure, it's good to let people change some things:

Show what can change: Mark clearly which parts of the template people can change.
Give rules: Write down how to change templates without messing up the brand's look.
Let people be creative: Allow team members to change templates for special needs while keeping the main brand parts.
Update often: Look at and update templates regularly to match any new brand rules or design trends.

5. Set Up a Design System

A design system helps keep your graphic designs looking the same. It's a set of rules and parts that work together to make your brand look the same everywhere.

What is a Design System?

A design system is a set of design rules and parts you can use again. It helps make all your designs look the same, no matter where they are used.

A good design system:

Grows easily
Is easy to update
Helps you work faster

Parts of a Design System

A design system usually has these parts:

| Part | What it Does |
| --- | --- |
| Design Rules | Tell you how to make designs |
| Design Parts | Ready-made pieces you can use |
| Style Guide | Shows how things should look |
| Design Settings | Stores colors and sizes |
| How-to Guide | Tells you how to use everything

How Design Systems Help

Using a design system can:

Make all your designs look the same
Save time by not making the same things over and over
Help your team work better together
Let you add new designs easily
Stop mistakes by using the same parts every time

A design system is a good way to keep your graphic designs looking the same and working well.

6. Use Grid Systems

Grid systems help make layouts look neat and organized in graphic design. They give you a plan to follow, which helps keep everything in order and looking the same across different designs.

Why Use Grids

Grids are good for many reasons:

They help organize content
They line things up neatly
They make designs look the same
They speed up design work
They help designs fit different screen sizes

Types of Grids

There are different kinds of grids for different needs:

| Grid Type | What It Is | Good For |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Column Grid | Splits the page into up-and-down sections | Magazines, websites, flyers |
| Modular Grid | Uses both up-down and side-to-side lines | Complex layouts, dashboards |
| Baseline Grid | Uses side-to-side lines for text | Designs with lots of text |
| Hierarchical Grid | Organizes by importance | Special layouts, info pictures

How to Use Grids in Your Designs

To use grids well in your work:

1. Pick the right grid: Choose a grid that fits what you're making.

2. Set up your grid: Use your design program to make the grid lines.

3. Line things up: Put your design parts along the grid lines.

4. Use space well: Keep the same amount of space between things.

5. Break the rules sometimes: It's okay to go outside the grid if it makes your design better, but do it on purpose.

7. Standardize Image Use

Using images the same way helps keep your brand looking the same in all your designs. Here's how to pick, edit, and organize images for your brand.

Picking Images for Your Brand

When choosing images:

Match your brand's look (simple, bright, old-fashioned)
Use colors that go with your brand's colors
Pick images your customers will like and that show what your brand believes in
Use images that look alike (same lighting, setup, and feel)

Make a list to check if images fit your brand's rules. This helps make sure all your pictures look right for your brand.

Editing Images the Same Way

To make all your brand's images look alike:

Make a special way to edit images:
- Use the same filters on all images
- Set rules for how bright, colorful, and balanced images should be
Crop images the same way:
- Use the same image sizes for different places (like square for Instagram)
- Decide where important parts of the image should be
Put text on images the same way:
- Use the same fonts, sizes, and colors for text on images
- Put text in the same spots on images
Use your logo or name on images:
- Make one design for your logo on images
- Put it in the same spot and make it the same see-through on all images

Keeping Brand Images Organized

Good organization helps keep images the same and makes work faster. Try these ideas:

Use a system to store images:
- Pick a system that works with your design tools
- Set who can use different types of images
Make folders that make sense:
- Sort images by what they're for or what they show
- Name folders and files in a way that's easy to understand
Add information to images:
- Write what the image is about and how it can be used
- Use tags to make images easy to find
Check your images often:
- Get rid of old images or ones that don't fit your brand
- Look at all your images to make sure they still fit your brand's rules

| Task | Why It’s Important | How to Do It |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pick the right images | Keeps your brand looking the same | Use a checklist to match images to your brand |
| Edit images the same way | Makes all images look like they belong together | Use the same filters and rules for all images |
| Organize images well | Saves time and keeps things in order | Use folders, tags, and image information

8. Do Regular Design Checks

Checking your designs often helps keep your brand looking the same everywhere. By looking at your designs regularly, you can make sure they all follow your brand rules and look good together.

Why Check Designs Often

Checking designs often is good for:

Keeping your brand the same everywhere
Finding and fixing design problems early
Seeing how your brand look changes over time
Making your design work better

How to Check Your Designs

Follow these steps to check if your designs look the same:

Make a list: Write down what to check, like:
- How you use your logo
- If you use the right colors
- If you use the same fonts
- How you use and edit pictures
- If you use the same layout
Set times to check: Decide when you'll check (like every month or every three months)
Look at everything: Check designs on:
- Your website
- Social media
- Ads and flyers
- Product boxes
- Work papers
Use design tools: Try computer programs that can help check designs
Get others to help: Ask different team members to look at designs too

Using What You Learn

Use what you find out to make your designs better:

Fix your rules: Change your design guide if you need to
Make things right: Fix any problems you find quickly
Teach your team: Show your team how to avoid common mistakes
Make your work better: Change how you work to stop problems before they happen
Keep track: Write down what you find each time to see if things get better

| Step | What to Do | Why It’s Important |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Make a list | Write down what to check | Helps you remember everything |
| Set check times | Decide when to check designs | Keeps you checking regularly |
| Look at everything | Check all your designs | Makes sure everything matches |
| Use tools | Try design checking programs | Saves time and finds small problems |
| Get help | Ask others to look too | Gives you new ideas |
| Fix problems | Change things that don’t match | Keeps your brand looking good |
| Teach others | Show your team what you learned | Helps everyone make better designs

Conclusion

Keeping graphic designs the same helps build a strong brand and makes things easier for users. By using the eight tips in this guide, businesses can make designs that look the same and work well for their audience.

Making a style guide and design system is key. These tools help everyone on the team use the same colors, fonts, images, and layouts in all their work.

When designs look the same, they:

Are easier to use
Help users learn faster
Cause fewer mistakes

Checking designs often is important to keep them looking the same over time. This helps find and fix any problems quickly.

Here's why keeping designs the same is good for business:

| Benefit | Description |
| --- | --- |
| Better brand recognition | People remember your brand more easily |
| More trust from customers | Consistent designs make your business look reliable |
| Business growth | A strong brand image can help your business grow

FAQs

How do you keep designs the same on different screens?

To keep designs looking the same on various screens:

Put approved images and how to use them in a shared folder
Make branded slide designs for online talks
Create social media cover photos for employees to use
Give templates for documents and social posts to keep the brand look the same online

How to keep graphic design the same?

To keep graphic design looking the same:

| Step | What to Do |
| --- | --- |
| 1. Make brand rules | Write down how to use colors, fonts, and style |
| 2. Use the same colors | Pick colors and use them the same way in all materials |
| 3. Keep the look and feel the same | Use the same style and tone in all designs |
| 4. Teach your team | Show everyone how to follow the brand rules |
| 5. Check often | Look at all designs to make sure they follow the rules

These steps help make sure all your designs look like they belong together.